Apparatus for the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth or the like.



PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904.

M. B. NAIRN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLEUM FLOOR CLOTH OR THELIKE.

HO MODEL.

5 0 5 G1 Gig ya Q MZ/ APPLICATION FILED MAY 4,1903.

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No. 754,085. PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904. M. B. NAIBN. APPARATUS FOR THEMANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLEUM FLOOR CLOTH OR. THE LIKE.

P N 4,1 3. N0 MODEL. A PLIOATIO FILED KAY 90 6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904' M. B. NAIRN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLEUM FLOOR CLOTH OR THELIKE.

APPLICATION FILE 4,1903. N0 MODEL. D MAY 6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVEITOI No. 754,085. PATENTBD MAR. 8, 1904. M. B. NAIRN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLEUM FLOOR CLOTH OR THELIKE.

APPLIOATION FILED M Y 4,1903, NO MODEL A 6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

u rvnlllllul mvsuron wfimavw No. 754,085. PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904. M. B.NAIRN. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLBUM FLOOR CLOTH ORTHE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. 1903. NO MODEL. 6 SHEETS-SHEET 5- INVRITOR w,65.1w. -6 MMW M W PATENTED MAR. 8, 1904,

0 M. B. NAIRN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLBUM FLOOR CLOTH OR THELIKE.

APPLIOATION IILED MAY 4, 190a. 6 SHEETEPSHEBT 6.

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UNITED STATES Patented March 8, 1904. i

PATENT ()EEICE.

MICHAEL B. NAIRN, OF KIRKCALDY, SCOTLAND.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOSAIC LINOLEUM FLOOR-CLOTH OR THELIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 754,085, dated March 8,1904. Application filed May 4, 1903. Serial No. 155,456. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,MIoHAEL BARKER NAIRN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Kirkcaldy, in the county of Fife, Scotland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for theManufacture of Mosaic Linoleum Floor-Cloth or the Like, (for which Ihave applied for apatent in Great Britain, dated September 29, 1902, No.21,162,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to enable the pattern-pieces requiredfor the production of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth and the like to be cutout of a flat sheet of the material without requiring all thecutting-dies arranged in one and the same plane to operatesimultaneously upon the entire surface of the sheet,

which would require an excessive expenditure of power. For this purposeI bring a sheet of linoleum floor-cloth material underneath a series ofstationary cutting-dies arranged in one and the same plane in sufficientnumber to cut out the whole of the pattern-pieces required to beobtained from the sheet, and I then cause a cylinder or rollercorresponding in length to the width of the sheet to travel alongunderneath the latter in such a raised position as to raise the portionof the sheet under which it is situated for the time being and forceitagainst and into the cutting-dies, so that these out out thepattern-pieces therefrom in gradual succession as the roller passes fromthe one end to the other. In the spaces between the cutting-dies arearranged springdisks that are pressed upward as the roller raises thesheet of material and which, after the roller has passed away, forcedown the waste pieces of the sheet situated between the cutting-dies,suitable means being provided for carrying such waste pieces away, afterwhich the pattern-pieces are ejected from the dies by means of plungersin the known manner. The apparatus may be variously arranged forcarrying out the said mode of operating. According to one arrangementthe sheet of linoleum floor-cloth material is delivered onto ahorizontal traveling carriage having at one end the said cylinder orroller that is capable of being raised and lowered.

1 5 The surface of the carriage on which the sheet of material restsconsists, preferably, of a series of small rollers that may receiverotary motion and between which may be flat bars, so that the sheetrests partly upon the rollers and partly upon the bars. The carriage isalso provided beneath the pressing cylinder and rollers with an endlesstraveling apron serving to carry away the waste pieces. Thepressing-roller being in the lowered position, the carriage, with itssheet of material, is run underneath the before-mentioned set ofcutting-dies, and after the pressing-cylinder has been raised, so as toforce the front end of the sheet of material up against and into thefront row of cutting-dies, the carriage, with the cylinder, is made totravel backward underneath the sheet, which remains stationary, wherebythe cylinder is made to raise successively each part of the sheet andpress it into the successive rows of dies. As the roller passes awayfrom the dies the before-mentioned springdisks force the waste piecesfrom between the dies onto the traveling apron which conveys them away.WVhen the cylinder and carriage have passed entirely from under thedies, the framing carrying these is lowered onto a table and theplungers of the dies are made to expel the pattern-pieces onto a fabricon the table forming the foundation of the mosaic floor-cloth.

With the above-described carriage may also be combined a device forlubricating the cutting-dies and plungers each time the carriage passesunder them. Such device may consist of a roller dipping in a troughcontaining lubricating liquid and so arranged that when the carriagetravels inward the said roller is raised so as to roll in contact withthe dies and plungers, and thereby lubricate them, while when thecarriage travels outward and the cutting-roller is in action, asdescribed, the lubricating-roller is lowered, so as to be out of contactwith the dies and material contained therein.

I will now proceed to describe the arrangement of apparatus or machinerywhich I prefer to employ in carrying my said invention into practice.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a general side elevation,and Fig. 2 a

plan of the machine adapted for the production of mosaic floor-clothwith any required number of diiferent-colored tesserae. Figs. 3 and 3*together show a transverse section of one of the cuttingout anddepositing machines; Fig. 4, a part side view; Fig. 5, an end View; Fig.6, a part cross-section showing the cutting-roller in action; Fig. 7, apart cross-section showing the parts in position for depositing thetesserae on' the base-cloth; Fig. 8, a part plan of the carriage; Fig.9, a longitudinal section through the cutting-roller; Fig. 10, alongitudinal section through the oiling-trough; Fig. 11, a longitudinalsection showing the driving-roller of the conveyingcloth.

As shown at Figs. 1 and 2, there are as many cutting-out and depositingmachines arranged side by side as there are different-colored tesseraefor forming the pattern, through which machines passes consecutively thecanvas base-cloth 1, on which the cut tesserae are deposited and fixed,so that after this has received the tesserae of one color from machine 2it passes onto machine 3, where it receives the tesserae of anothercolor in proper position relatively to those first deposited, and so on,the base-cloth being made to travel along a table 4 by a step-by-stepmotion, remaining stationary at each machine while the whole of thetesseree thereof are being deposited. After the base-cloth has beencompletely filled in this manner, thus constituting a sheet of inlaidlinoleum, it passes into a hydraulic press 5, where it is subjected topressure, while at the same time it is heated by a heating-chest 6, soas to bind the whole effectually together. From the hydraulic press thefinished mosaic floor-cloth finally passes to the forwarding apparatus7, consisting of a cylinder with clamp rotated by the gearing shown, soas to impart to the floor-cloth the required step-bystep forward motion,the extent of each successive travel being the exact amount required forbringing the base-cloth into position in the cutting and depositingmachinesthat is to say, a length equal to the width of a machine.

The cylinder 7 is driven by gear of any suitable known arrangement forfulfilling the above object. The construction and action of the saidmachines for cutting out and depositing the tesserae is as follows:Between two strong side frames 8, connected by transverse rails, ismounted a beam or cross-head 9, carried at its ends by transversebearers 10 to lugs 11, on which it is attached by brackets 12 and bolts13, the bearers 10 being in their turn supported by vertical rods 14,whose lower ends are fixed to a cross-bar 15, to which are pivotedlevers 16 17, turning on fulcra at 18 19 and actuated by cams 20 21,fixed on driving-shafts 22, by which consequently the cross-head 9receives a vertical up-and-down motion at intervals, as will bepresently described. Below'the cross-head 9 is, first, a

lower platen 23, connected thereto by the rods I of eccentrics 24,mounted on the cross-head, and, secondly, an upper platen 25, bolted tothe cross-head and carrying four guide-bolts 26, passing throughbrackets 27 on platen 23 and serving to guide the latter when beingmoved relatively to 25 by the eccentrics 24, such motion being limitedby adjustable upper stops 28 on the framing and lower stops 29 on theends of bolts 26. The'cross-head 9 and platens 23 25 are shown in theirhighest position in Figs. 3, 3 4, and 5, in which the cutting-dies 30,fixed to the lower platen, are in position for cutting the tesserae outof the linoleum sheet, the brackets 27 of platen 23 being then incontact with the upper stops 28. When the cross-head and platens arebrought to the lowest position by the earns 20 21, as at Fig. 7, theplaten 23 rests with adjustable stop 31 upon abutment-pieces 32 on thetable carrying the base-cloth 1, in which position the lower edges ofthe dies are sufiiciently clear of the base-cloth to allow the cuttesserae to be deposited from the former onto the latter. This iseffected by means of plungers 33, contained within the die, which areconnected to the upper platen 25 by rods 34. These are so arranged thatwhen the dies are in the raised position (shown at Figs. 3, 3 ready forcutting the plungers are in the inward position shown; but when thecross-head and platens are lowered the motion of platen 23 beingarrested when it comes in contact with the abutments 32, the cross-headand platen 25, in continuing to descend, cause the plungers to descendin the dies and in pushing the cut tesserae out of them onto thebase-cloth to assume the position shown at Fig. 7. The before-mentionedeccentrics 24 carry an arm 35, with a sleeve which slides up and down arod 36 during the up-and-down motion of the cross-head and platens,which rod is pivoted to a parallel motion 37, actuated by a cam 38 onthe driving-shaft 22. When the parts are in the lowered positiondescribed, cam 38 is made to push up rod 36, so that its stop 39 inacting upon arm turns the eccentrics 24 slightly beyond their topdeadcenters, whereby platen 23 is slightly raised relatively to 25,causing the plungers 33 to be brought flush'with or slightly protrudedbeyond the cutting-dies 30, and the cross-head and platens are then madeto rise into the upper position, but with the plungers protruding,.asdescribed, in which position the dies and plungers are oiled by a deviceto be presently described. When this has been done, the cams 2O 21impart a slight farther upward motion to the cross-head and upperplaten, (the lower platen being held stationary by the stops 28,) and atthe same time cam 38 acts upon rod 36 so as to cause the stop 40 to drawdown arm 35, and thus turn back the eccentively to shown at Figs. 3, 3in which the my inventionnamely, the manner in which a'travelmg rolleris made to press a sheet of linoleum successively against thecutting-dies for cutting out the tesserae therefrom.

.To brackets 41, fixed to the side frames of thetmachine and to frames42, are fixed horizontal rails 43, extending through the machine atrightangles to the table 4, carrying the base-cloth l, and upon these railsruns a carriage consisting of two separate parts namely, an outside part44, which runs with wheels 45 upon the said rails, and an inside part.46, which is adapted to slide to a certain extent to and fro betweenstops on the outside part while this is stationary, as will be presentlydescribed. The inside part carries, first, the cutting roller 47, thatserves to press the linoleum against the cuttingdies; secondly, ,aseries of small rollers 48, that serve to support the sheet of linoleumupon the carriage, and, thirdly, an endless traveling cloth 63, thatserves to carry away the waste portions of the linoleum sheet as this isoperated upon bythe dies 30. The outer carriage 44 carries, first, a bar49, acting both as a stop for the roller 47 ofthe inner carriage to buttagainst when moving from .right to left and ,for, nipping the end of alinoleum sheet 50 between it and roller 47 during the inward travel ofthecombined carriage; secondly, the outer carriage carrles anoiling-trough 51 with oiling-roller 52, that effects the oiling of thecutting-dies, 30 and plungers during the inward travel of the carriage.The under side of the outer carriage is-inclosed by sheet-iron 53 to.fixed toothed racks 54, with. which gear pinions 55 on thedriving-shaft. 56, which has an intermittent rotary motion imparted toit,

such-as torun the carriage into and out of the machine and then toremain stationary while. the cut tesserae are being deposited on the;base-cloth. It will be seen that when the pinions55 begin to run thecarriage into the machine they first impart motion to the inner partonly until the cutting-roller 47 comes in contact with the nipping-bar49, thereby .nip-

' together.

ping the end of. the linoleum sheet 50 between them, after which bothparts travel inward On starting the outward motion, on the otherhand,the inner part moves on the outer part until the end of the former comesin contact with stops 57 on the rear .end of the, latter, when both,parts travel togethen. The cutting-roller 47 is mounted 1 upon pivotedarms 58, which are acted upon by springs 59, which tend to raise thearms and roller into the position shown at Fig. 6, that being theposition in which the roller presses the linoleum sheet against thecuttingdies, When, however, the inner carriage is made to commence itsinward motion, as above described, tapered extensions 58 of 58 inengaging with rollers at the under side of the nipping-bar 49, draw thearms, and with them the roller, down into the lowered position, (shownin Fig. 3 andin this position the roller then passeswith the carriageunderneath the cutting-dies. The oiling-roller 52 is also carried bypivoted arms 60 in the oiltrough 51, fixed to the outer carriage. Whenthe inner carriage commences its inward motion, as described, inclines61 thereon pass under studs projecting from the arms 60,-and therebyraise these and the roller into such a position that on both parts ofthe carriage then performing the inward motion the oilingroller comes incontact with the under surfaces of the cutting-dies and the protrudingplungers and effects the oiling of these. The arms 60 are made doublewith spring action, as shown, so as efiectually to press the rolleragainst the plungers.

The action of the above-described machine is as follows: In commencingoperations the carriage is in the outward position, (indicated in dottedlines at Fig. 3,) the cutting-roller being situated at 47 thenipping-bar at 19 and the oiling-roller at 52*. In this position a sheetof linoleum 50 is fed onto the carriage in any convenient manner so asto lie upon the small rollers 48, the front edge thereof being broughtround the cutting-roller, so that when the forward motion of the innercarriage begins the linoleum is nipped between the roller and thenipping-ban The combined carriages then travel forward, theoiling-roller being raised and the cutting-roller lowered, as

already described. As the carriage passes along under the cutters theseand the plungers are oiled by the roller 52. On the completion of theinward motion the carriage and parts connected thereto are in theposition shown at Figs. 3 and 3 Immediately afterward thebefore-described completion of the motion of the cross-head and platensis effected, whereby the plungers are drawn back into the cuttingdies,as shown, these being now ready to commence the cutting operation. Thecarriage then commences its outward travel, when as the outer carriageat first remains stationary the inclines 61 are withdrawn from the armsof the oiling-roller, so that this drops down into the trough. Also theextensions of the arms carrying the cutting-roller being withdrawn fromthe nipping-bar the roller is raised up by its springs 59, so that onthe continued outward motion of the carriage the roller raises up thelinoleum sheet and presses it against the cutting-dies, as shown at Fig.6. The first row of cutting-dies 30 are thus made to cut out of thelinoleum sheet tesserae of a configuration corresponding to that of thecutters, which tesserae remains in the cutters, while the waste portionsof the sheet surrounding the latter are pushed downward from betweenthem by means of spring-plates 62, carried second row of dies, and so onsuccessively until the whole of the sheet has had the tesserae cut outof it, and the carriage eventually arrives at its original outwardposition with the cutting-roller and oiling-roller situated in thepositions 47 and 52 mains stationary, while the previously -describedoperations of lowering the cross-head and platens with the cutting-dies,pushing the tesseree out of the latter down onto the basecloth 1,raising the cross-head platens and dies again, and slightly protrudingthe plungers 33 have been completed and the base-cloth 1 has been fedforward, so as to bring another section under the dies. After this thecarriage again travels forward, receiving a fresh sheet of linoleum andbringing it under the cutters.

The cutting-roller has rotary motion imparted to it during its cuttingoperation, as follows: The rail 43, fixed to bracket 41 of the framing8, carries a toothed rack 64, with which gears a pinion 65, mountedloose on the axis of the arms 58, carrying the cutting-roller. Theextended boss of pinion carries a second pinion 65 which gears with apinion 66 on the axis of the cutting-roller, so that as the carriagetravels the pinion 65 is rotated by the rack and imparts rotation to thecutting-roller. The same racks 6 1 also impart rotation to theoiling-roller 5.2 by atrain of pinions 67, one of which is in gear withthe rack, while another on the axis of the arms 60 is in gear with atoothed wheel 68 on the roller-axis. The traveling cloth 63 has itsmotion imparted to it through the outer end roller 69, whose axiscarries a toothed wheel 70, gearing with a double pinion 71, which alsogears with arack 7 2 on the under side of the rail 43, carried by thebrackets 41. A second traveling cloth is provided at 73 for receivingthe waste material from the cloth 63 and carrying it to the end of theframe when the carriage is in the inward position. The cutting-roller isprovided with a suitable soft resilient surface, as shown at Fig. 9, sothat the cutting-dies can embed themselves sufficiently into it toinsure their effectual penetration through the linoleum sheet forseparating the tesserae therefrom. It

The carriage now re is provided with a suitable scraper or doctorbladefor removing any adhering material therefrom. The oiling-roller 52 isprovided with a doctor-roller 7 4 for removing surplus oil therefrom.

The upper platen is capable of accurate adjustment in a horizontaldirection relatively to the cross-head by means of adjusting-screws .75. The connecting-rods for imparting the up-and-down motion to thecross-head and platens are provided with spring-adjustments 7 6 foraffording a smooth motion.

The driving-gear for the several mechanisms for imparting theabove-described different kinds of motion may be of any suitable kind,such as shown on the drawings, and may be easily devised by any oneconversant with the art. It is therefore not necessary to furtherdescribe the same.

In conclusion I will for the sake of clearness shortly restate thesequence of operations performed by the above-described machinery incarrying out my said invention: First, the cross-head, platens, and diesare in the raised position, with the plungers flush with the face of thecutters; secondly, a section of the basecloth has been brought into themachine for receiving the cut tesserae; thirdly, the carriage with thecutting-roller and oiling-roller being in the outward position receivesa sheet of linoleum and is run into the machine, effecting the oiling ofthe cutters and plungers; fourthly, a relative motion is then efiectedbetween the cross-head with upper platen and the lower platen, wherebythe plungers are made to recede into the dies; fifthly, the carriagewith the cutting-roller in the raised position and the oiling-rollerlowered is then run outward, whereby the cutting-roller forces thelinoleum into the cutters; sixthly, during this operation thespring-plates eject the Waste linoleum from between the cutters onto theconveying-cloth; seventhly, when the carriage has completed its outwardtravel it remains stationary and the cross-head, platens, and cuttersdescend to the base-cloth, onto which the tesserae are deposited by theplungers;

eighthly, the cross-head, &c., then rise again Iio into the raisedposition and the plungers and cutters are ready for oiling; ninthly, afresh section of the base-cloth is run into the machine, and theoperations 3 to 8 are then repeated.

Having thus described the nature of this invention and the best means Iknow of carrying the same into practical effect, I claim 1. In machineryfor the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, a plurality ofhollow cutting-dies whose cutting edges all lie in one and the sameplane, and a roller adapted to travel along underneath said cutting-diesso as to press an interposed sheet of linoleum consecutively against andinto them, substantially as described.

' 2. In machinery for the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, aplurality of hollow cutting-dies having their cutting edges all lyinginone and the same plane, a carriage having a backward and forwardmotion to and from the dies and adapted to bring a sheet of linoleumunderneath said dies, a roller on said carriage, means for raising saidroller when the carriage with the linoleum is at the end of its forwardmotion under the cutting-dies, so as to press the linoleum sheetprogressively against and into the dies as the carriage and rollertravel from under the dies, means for removing the waste portions of thelinoleum from between the dies, and means for ejecting the cut tesseraeout of the dies and depositing "them upon a basecloth, substantially asdescribed.

3. In machinery for the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, aplurality of .hollow cutting-dies whose cutting edges all he in the sameplane, a carriage having a backward and forward motion to and from thedies, a cutting-roller mounted on pivoted arms on said carriage, springsadapted to bring the roller into a raised position, means for holdingthe roller in a lowered position while the carriage is traveling forwardunderneath the dies, and for releasing it when the carriage begins totravel backward so as to allow the cuttingroller to rise and press asheet of linoleum successively against the dies during the backwardtravel, means for pressing the waste portions of linoleum from betweenthe dies and onto a traveling cloth on the carriage adapted to conveysuch portions away, a base-cloth adapted to travel along a table beneathsaid carrier, means for lowering the cutting-dies into close proximityto the base-cloth after the carriage has passed from under them, meansfor depositing the cut tesserae from the dies onto the base cloth, andmeans for raising the dies again after such deposit has been effected,substantially as described.

4:. In machinery for the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, aplurality of hollow cutting-dies whose cutting edges all lie in the sameplane, a carriage having a backward and forward motion to and from thedies, a cutting-roller mounted on pivoted arms on said carriage, springsadapted to bring the roller into a raised position, means for holdingthe roller in a lowered position while the carriage is traveling forwardunderneath the dies, and for releasing it when the carriage begins totravel backward so as to allow the cuttingroller to rise and press asheet of linoleum successively against the dies during the backwardtravel, an oiling-roller situated on the carriage in front of saidcutting-roller, means for holding said oiling-roller in a raisedposition while the carriage is traveling forward, so as to bring theroller in contact with the cutting-dies and 5. In machinery for themanufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, a plurality of hollowcutting-dies whose cutting edges all lie in the same plane, a carriageadapted to travel backward and forward to and from said dies whichconsists of an outer and an inner part capable of a certain amount oflongitudinal motion relatively to each other, of which the inner partcarries first a cutting-roller adapted to be lowered during the forwardtravel of the carriage and to be raised during the backward motionthereof; secondly, a series of small rollers adapted to receive a sheetof linoleum to be operated upon by the cutting-roller and cutting-dies,and, thirdly, an endless traveling cloth adapted to receive and carryaway the waste portions of the linoleum sheet after it has been operatedupon, while the outer part of the carriage carries a nipping-bar fornipping the linoleum sheet between it and the cutting-roller, and anoil-trough containing an oiling-roller adapted to be raised in contactwith the cutting-dies and their plungers while the carriage isperforming its forward travel and to be lowered out of such contactwhile the carriage performs its outward travel, substantially asdescribed.

6. In machinery for the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, across-head adapted to receive "a vertical to-and-fro motion withintervening periods of rest, an upper platen adjustably fixed to thecross-head, a lower platen carried by eccentrics on the cross-head so asto be capable of a certain vertical motion relatively thereto hollowcutting-dies fixed to the under side of the lower platen and adapted tocut tesserae from a sheet of linoleum pressed against them, plungers insaid dies having stems attached to the upper platen, so that when on thedownward motion of the cross-head and platens the lower platen buttsagainst stops, the upper platen, in descending still further causes theplungers to move downward in the dies and to deposit the tesserae onto abase-cloth below substantially as described.v

7. In machinery for the manufacture of mosaic linoleum floor-cloth, across-head adapted to receive a vertical to-and-fro motion withintervening periods of rest, an upper platen adjustably fixed to thecross-head, a lower platen carried by the cross-head and upper platen soas to be capable of a certain vertical motion relatively thereto, hollowcutting-dies fixed to the under side of the lower platen and adapted tocut tesserae from a sheet of linoleum pressed against them, plungers insaid dies having stems attached to the upper platen, eccentrics on thecross-head, whose straps are connected to the lower platen, and meansfor turning said eccentrics when the cross-head my hand in presence oftwo subscribing witand platens are 1n the reused pos1t1on so as tonesses.

move the lower platen upward relatively to the upper platen to such anextent as to cause MICHAEL NAIRN' 5 the plungers to protrude from thedies, sub- Witnesses:

stantially as described. HUGH B. BARR,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set ALEX. A. BENNETT.

